Taysom Hill recently shared a side of himself that NFL fans might not be used to seeing.
Hill was a guest on Wednesday’s episode of the “All In” podcast and was emotional as he discussed the influence of faith and family in his life.
At the end of the episode, the NFL tight end apologized for crying.
Here are four takeaways from Hill’s discussion with “All In” host Morgan Jones Pearson.
Why serving a mission was important for Taysom Hill
Hill first became emotional when discussing his decision to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the impact it had on his life.
Hill said there wasn’t a specific age when he decided to serve, but that “it was always something that I knew that I needed to do.”
“I always had this expectation that I was going to go and serve, but it was because I had recognized that God had been so good to me, and I wanted to give back,” he said.
Hill added that his reason of giving back is funny now because ”you go out and serve, and you realize that the life that was changed was yours and that was no different for me."
“The experiences and what I learned as a missionary has formed me into the man that I am today. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t benefit from the experiences that I had there,” he said.
How he has trusted God through injuries and setbacks
Injuries have plagued Hill throughout his football career, including when he was at BYU.
This season, he tore his ACL on Dec. 1 in a game against the Los Angeles Rams, which ended his year, as the Deseret News reported at the time.
Pearson asked Hill what he would say to people who question how he can still trust God despite all the injuries he has suffered.
“Honestly, there’s no part of me that ever questions God’s goodness,” he said.
Hill shared a conversation he had with then-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ in 2014 or 2015.
“He just told me that ‘If the Lord needed you on the football field, playing football, making plays right now, then you would be there, but he doesn’t. And so now it’s your responsibility to figure out where he needs you,’” Hill said.
He added, “I have had way too many experiences with the goodness of God that I do not ever think about these injuries as God’s doing and that I’m suffering as a result of you know God not preventing this.”
Hill’s advice to people struggling with trusting God in the midst of hardship is to “look for God’s hand.”
“My experience and what I have come to know is that God is aware of all of us, and if you take a step back and you look for God’s hand in your life, I promise you’ll find it. And I can look at every injury, I can look at the path of how I ended up at BYU, and how I’m here sitting in front of you having this conversation, and God’s hand has been involved in every detail,” he said.
How Taysom Hill strengthens his faith
With most of Hill’s NFL games being played on a Sunday, it can be hard for him to attend church in the fall.
He noted that while in Chicago for a road game, he was able to attend a local sacrament meeting before the Saints’ late afternoon kickoff.
There, he ran into someone he knew from his mission.
Hill said that he and his wife have come to realize that “there are times and seasons in all things” and that in this season of their life, they may have to adapt their Sunday worship for now.
“Maybe it’s not Sunday. Maybe it’s Monday. But let’s make sure that we find time where we sit down and allocate some time where we can feel the spirit and that we can have gospel conversations,” he said.
How the Hills overcame struggles with infertility
Throughout the interview, Hill spoke highly of his wife, Emily, including when he said he felt he was meant to go to BYU to meet her.
He praised her while discussing the couple’s experience with infertility and IVF as they tried to start a family.
“Truthfully, I cannot say enough good about Emily,” he said.
As the couple struggled with infertility, he knew he could get through it so long as he had Emily.
“She really has been a rock through all the IVF stuff, and there were some dark days through the IVF stuff, if I’m being honest,” he said.
It was hard for Hill, who had always wanted to be a dad.
“It was really hard for me to think about not being able to have somebody that came from me and Emily because I cared about her so much, and that was a really scary thought for me. I’m so grateful for modern medicine that’s created this opportunity for us to get babies here,” he said.
Through those struggles, the couple “really relied on the Lord,” he added.
It took four embryo transfers for the Hills to be able to give birth to their oldest son. They are now the parents of two young boys.
“Between praying and priesthood blessings, I felt like the Lord had comforted us, and again, I think the common denominator in all of this was that we could go through it together and that I knew that if we stayed together and always communicated through these, that we would get through it,” Hill said.
Hill added that his wife has been a single mom as he’s recovered from his ACL tear, which he described as “probably the hardest injury that I’ve been through.”